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What Training Do Skin Surgeons Need?

Lynne Lamberg

JAMA. 2002;287:2349-2350.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

New Orleans—A proposed yearlong postgraduate year (PGY) 5 fellowship in dermatologic surgery for dermatologists has sparked objections from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The residency review committee for dermatology seeks approval of the fellowship by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

The ACS maintains that the proposed program lacks the comprehensiveness of training programs in plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and other traditional surgical specialties. Dermatologists note that 64 PGY-5 dermatologic surgery programs currently exist. ACGME accreditation would establish uniform standards to ensure educational quality across programs.

"Our concern is the type and length of training that entitles physicians to call themselves ‘surgeons,'" said ACS executive director Thomas Russell, MD. "This is not—and should not be—a turf issue," Russell said, presenting ACS's view at a session on controversies in dermatology at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Ronald Wheeland, MD, AAD immediate . . . [Full Text of this Article]